The CFPB received 322,580 debt collection complaints in the 12 months from October 2025 through September 2026. In 139,688 of them (43%), the consumer said the collector was trying to collect a debt they did not owe. The year before, October 2024 through September 2025, the count was 252,028.
Within "debt not owed", 89,277 said the debt was not theirs, 38,037 said it came from identity theft, 9,605 said it had been paid and 2,769 said it was discharged in bankruptcy. The next most common issue was a threatened or actual negative or legal action, 79,638 complaints, nearly all of them (73,823) about a threat to the consumer’s credit. 2,017 said they were threatened with a lawsuit over very old debt.
Texas had the most complaints, 55,288, followed by Florida (35,240) and California (27,782). Per resident, Georgia was highest at 237 per 100,000 people.
What these numbers are
These are complaints, not findings. The CFPB does not verify every claim, and one person can file more than one complaint. The issue is the category the consumer picked. Complaint counts also move with how many people know about the CFPB and how companies send customers to it, so a rise in complaints is not the same as a rise in bad collection practices. Companies said they responded on time to 96.5% of these complaints.
Complaints by issue
| Issue the consumer chose | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to collect debt not owed | 139,688 | 43.3% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 79,638 | 24.7% |
| Written notification about debt | 52,029 | 16.1% |
| False statements or representation | 34,943 | 10.8% |
| Communication tactics | 9,077 | 2.8% |
| Electronic communications | 4,596 | 1.4% |
| Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly | 2,609 | 0.8% |
Complaints by state
| State | Complaints | Per 100,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 55,288 | 176.7 |
| Florida | 35,240 | 150.8 |
| California | 27,782 | 70.5 |
| Georgia | 26,484 | 236.9 |
| North Carolina | 13,079 | 118.4 |
| South Carolina | 12,532 | 228.7 |
| New York | 11,864 | 59.7 |
| Illinois | 10,928 | 86.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 10,831 | 82.8 |
| Arizona | 9,315 | 122.9 |
| Louisiana | 8,312 | 180.8 |
| Alabama | 7,988 | 154.9 |
| New Jersey | 7,870 | 82.8 |
| Ohio | 6,965 | 58.6 |
| Michigan | 6,567 | 64.8 |
| Virginia | 6,441 | 73.1 |
| Maryland | 6,424 | 102.6 |
| Mississippi | 6,401 | 217.5 |
| Tennessee | 5,737 | 79.4 |
| Washington | 4,420 | 55.5 |
| Nevada | 3,990 | 122.1 |
| Indiana | 3,829 | 55.3 |
| Missouri | 3,657 | 58.6 |
| Massachusetts | 2,967 | 41.6 |
| Oklahoma | 2,762 | 67.4 |
| Colorado | 2,383 | 40.0 |
| Arkansas | 2,288 | 74.1 |
| Wisconsin | 2,155 | 36.2 |
| Minnesota | 2,046 | 35.3 |
| Connecticut | 2,016 | 54.9 |
| Kentucky | 1,637 | 35.7 |
| Oregon | 1,486 | 34.8 |
| Delaware | 1,328 | 126.2 |
| Utah | 981 | 28.0 |
| Kansas | 822 | 27.7 |
| New Mexico | 761 | 35.7 |
| Iowa | 750 | 23.1 |
| Rhode Island | 707 | 63.6 |
| District of Columbia | 653 | 93.0 |
| Idaho | 622 | 31.1 |
| Nebraska | 587 | 29.3 |
| West Virginia | 500 | 28.2 |
| North Dakota | 420 | 52.7 |
| New Hampshire | 408 | 29.0 |
| Hawaii | 394 | 27.2 |
| Montana | 270 | 23.7 |
| Alaska | 250 | 33.8 |
| South Dakota | 197 | 21.3 |
| Maine | 192 | 13.7 |
| Wyoming | 170 | 28.9 |
| Vermont | 79 | 12.2 |
50 states and D.C. 325 complaints had no state or listed a territory or military address, so the state rows add to less than the total. The per-resident rate is our calculation with Census 2024 ACS one-year population. State names link to that state’s debt statute of limitations page.
If a collector is after a debt you don’t recognize, you can ask for validation in writing, and you can check whether the debt is past your state’s statute of limitations.
Source
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, product "Debt collection", date received October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, queried through the public API on October 12, 2026. U.S. government data in the public domain. Population: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates (B01003). Our tables are available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Debt Collection Complaints by Issue and State," My Credit Guide, October 12, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/debt-collection-complaints/.
Related
- State debt collection lawsuit laws
- Consumer credit lawsuits in federal court
- Coerced debt laws
- Medical debt and credit reports: state laws
- Bill and account collectors by state
- Credit card complaints and vehicle loan complaints
- Credit report complaints by state
- People with a collection account
- Licensed debt collection agencies in New York City
- Debt-relief complaints in the FTC call files
- Debt statute of limitations by state